


In and Outside the Octagon

by berryblue_girl



Category: Spartacus Series (TV), Spartacus: Vengeance, Spartacus: War of the Damned
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-29
Updated: 2013-05-19
Packaged: 2017-12-09 21:38:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/778251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/berryblue_girl/pseuds/berryblue_girl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nasir interviews Agron and Duro Krueger, two of the UFC's newest recruits.  But things don't end between Nasir and Agron when the interview does.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [anc](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anc/gifts).



> This is my first story for this fandom! *nervous smile* This story was inspired by a Tumblr conversation between myself and my new buddy, **ancgangsta**. We talked about the great fics where Agron was a MMA fighter and how we wished that they were go into more detail on the MMA aspect. Originally this was supposed to be a drabble, but...yeah. So special thanks to **ancgangsta** for the idea and inspiration and **apeirophobia-andtheidesofmarch** for answering some of my MMA questions!
> 
> Okay, enough yakking! Enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, Nasir interviews the Krueger brothers and Agron flirts...just a little.

Nasir grinned as he put his car into park. He had been given an interview at The Pit, one of the UFC's leading fight teams. Several of the guys at Bloody Elbow had tried to get interviews there in the past but with no success. So when Nasir sent in his request to interview the Krueger brothers, he did so with low expectations of a positive response. But to his surprise, it was approved.

He grabbed his messenger bag from the seat next to him and his press credentials, which hung on a lanyard on his rearview mirror. After juggling with his things while locking his truck, he proceeded to the front entrance of the gym. A pretty brunette was sitting behind a desk in the lobby. Nasir approached her and she gave him a bright smile.

“Hi, I'm Sibyl,” she said. “Are you from Bloody Elbow?”

“Yeah, I'm Nasir D'Angelo,” he replied and they shook hands.

She came out from behind the desk and motioned for him to follow. Nasir felt like Charlie getting to go to the Wonka Chocolate Factory. He had seen some of the most impressive fights from fighters out of this house. As they entered the gym, Nasir was taking in as much as he could. He followed Sibyl to the Octagon at the center of the training area, where Oenomaus was working with one of the Krueger brothers, Duro. Nasir waited while she got the trainer's attention. Oenomaus exited the ring, Duro behind him, and said, “Mr. D'Angelo, welcome to The Pit.”

Nasir met him as he came down the stairs, saying, “Thank you for having me. And let me just say what an honor it is to meet you. I'm a fan of several fighters from here.”

“I hope I'm one of them!” Duro said with an easy grin. They shook hands before Duro turned to Oenomaus and said, “I'll go grab Agron, and we'll get cleaned up.”

Oenomaus nodded, then turned his attention back to Nasir. He extended an arm and said, “Follow me, please.”

As they walked, Nasir asked him a few questions about the Krueger brothers' debut fights in the UFC and what plans he had for their futures. Agron, a light heavyweight, won his first UFC bout against Anthony Perosh via submission in the 2nd round. Duro's first middleweight win was a bloody three round brawl with Brad Tavares. Oenomaus was pleased with their performances but was mum on what the future held, saying it was up to Dana. He led Nasir to a small conference room on the second floor of the gym. Oenomaus left him alone to set up, chuckling, “I have to get back. Fighters are much like children: leave them unattended for too long and they will begin to run wild.”

Nasir laughed and began organizing his things. He grabbed his tape recorder and a spare tape and set them aside. Sitting down in one of the chairs, he pulled out his notepad and reviewed his topics and questions. He watched fights from smaller organizations besides the UFC, so he was not entirely unfamiliar with the pair of brothers. Agron was a bit of brawler while Duro showed a bit more technical skill. But both appeared to be the kind of fighters that were eager to learn and expand on different areas of their fight games. Just as he finished setting up, the door opened and the brothers entered. They had changed into street clothes but each held a bottle of water and had a towel hanging around his neck.

Nasir stood and held a hand out to Agron. The taller man took it, saying, “My brother wasn't lying: you _are_ short!”

Nasir rolled his eyes and snorted. “Yeah, like I've never heard that one before.”

“Sorry about my brother,” Duro said, taking one of the seats. “Our mom tried to teach us good manners, but it didn't really take with Aggy.”

Nasir snickered while Agron shoved at his brother, grunting, “Fuck off!”

Clearing his throat, Nasir switched on his recorder and said, “The two of you are some of the UFC's newest recruits, but you've been in the fight game for a few years now. What was it that drew you to MMA?”

“When we were kids, we would watch HBO Boxing with Duro's dad,” Agron replied, taking a drink from his water. “Then he had heard about this new organization at work, so we ordered a pay preview. It was the early days when the UFC was in its infancy, but we were hooked. We lived in a rough neighborhood, so our parents didn't mind enrolling us in different self-defense classes. In their minds, it was keeping us off the streets and out of trouble.”

“Lot of good that did,” Duro snickered and the brothers shared a laugh.

Nasir talked them through their formative years, the pair opening up easily. Agron teased that whatever style of fighting he showed an interest in growing up, Duro was right behind him, eager to learn. Even though they teased each other endlessly and tried to one up the other with embarrassing stories, the love and affection that they had for each other was plain to see. Nasir found himself pausing in his note-taking to simply listen to their stories. Their stories took a decidedly darker turn when they talked about their time fighting in the underground circuits and their time with Quintus Batiatus's Ultimate Warrior Championship.

“From my research,” Nasir said, “I understand that you nearly died in one of those fights, Duro.”

Duro nodded, staying silent, and Agron put a hand on his little brother's shoulder, squeezing and replying, “That fucker's main goal was making an easy buck. He put Duro in the ring with a guy twice his size and let the bastard beat him until he was unconscious. He was in a coma for almost three days, and the doctors were unsure for a while that he would make it.”

Nasir bit his lip and set down his pen. “I'm sorry for bringing back painful memories.”

“Don't be,” Duro dismissed with a sniff. “I survived and was able to testify against him when the authorities started investigating. I was one of the lucky ones. Plus if we hadn't been there, we wouldn't have met Oenomaus.”

Agron grinned. “He helped us go legit.”

“It was either that or walk away,” Duro added. “Our parents sat us down and said that they weren't going to stand there and watch us kill ourselves for a dream.”

“And do they approve of your new trainer?”

“Oh yeah,” both brothers replied. Duro took a sip of his water and chuckled, “He brought some much needed discipline back to our fight game, which they loved. Well...that and tickets to our events.”

Nasir nodded. “I saw them on the pay preview for Agron's fight.”

Studying his notes, Nasir saw that he had covered pretty much everything. He closed his notebook and said, “So what's next for you guys?”

“More fights,” Agron replied with a huge grin. “We both realize how lucky we are to be where we are, so we plan to make the most of it.”

Agron looked at his little brother, who nodded and concurred, “What he said.”

Nasir smiled and reached over to turn off his recorder. Putting it back into his messenger bag, he said, “Thank you so much for this. Our readers are going to eat this up. After both of your fights, we've been fielding questions left and right about when we were getting an exclusive with you two.”

“We are pretty awesome,” Duro said in a mock-smug tone.

“So when do you think the article will be ready?” Agron asked, leaning forward.

Nasir packed away the last of his things and said, shrugging, “By the end of this week. I'm sure you'll be sent a notification from my editor.”

“What about you?” Agron asked. “Is there some way we could keep in touch? You seem like a pretty cool guy, and it would be nice to hang out outside of an interview.”

Duro snorted, which caused Agron to punch him on the shoulder. Nasir arched an eyebrow at the strange exchange but pulled out his smaller note pad. Scribbling quickly, he ripped the paper out and handed to Agron, saying, “That's my personal e-mail. If I don't answer, it's because I have two other articles to write this week and I'll be crazy busy with that. But I'd be up for getting together sometime.”

“Awesome,” Agron replied.

The three of them went back down to the first floor and parted ways as the brothers headed back to the locker room. Nasir took a moment to look around before heading to his truck so he could get home and start work on the article.

(^v^)

“You are fucking shameless! You know that, right?”

Agron rolled his eyes as he tucked the piece of paper in his locker and started changing back into his workout clothes. Tugging on his muscle shirt, he replied, “I have no idea what you're talking about.”

“Bullshit!” Duro laughed. “You forget, big brother. Besides Mom and Dad, I know you better than anyone and that little bit of getting that guy's email? You were totally hitting on him!”

“You are delusional!” Agron denied, despite that his ears were burning. “I might be gay, but that doesn't mean I will hit on anything with a dick!”

They sat down on a bench and Duro began taping up Agron's hands, saying, “I'm not saying you're wrong for it. If I were into dick, I'm sure I would have hit on him too.”

Agron glared at him, which made Duro laugh and say, “Calm down, cro-magnon man! I have Mira, and she keeps me more than satisfied.”

“Happy to hear it.”

Agron turned around to see Mira leaning against the lockers, smirking. As Duro started on his other hand, Agron stated, “This locker room is strictly dickly. So explain yourself.”

Mira shrugged, that smirk not leaving her face. “I just heard you two gabbing away and was curious as to the topic of conversation. I want to say that I can't believe you hit on your interviewer, but it's you so I can.”

Agron gave her the finger, which caused Duro to snort a laugh. Mira pushed off the lockers and said, “Oenomaus says to tell you that if you two aren't back out soon, he'll have you do squats until your legs fall off.”

The brothers groaned and Duro sped up his wrapping. Agron tapped up Duro twice as fast, the routine like second nature after so many years. Once they were finished, they closed their lockers and headed back out into the gym. Oenomaus shouted for Agron to get in the Octagon with Crixus and Duro to the weights as soon as they were in sight. They exchanged smiles and jogged to where they were ordered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Leave comments or kudos below if you want. Until next time, follow me @ othablugrl.tumblr.com for more of my madness!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, Nasir has a brain fart and Agron is teased by his siblings about his don't-call-it-a-man-crush!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaah! Thank you so much to everyone who has commented and kudo'ed the first chapter! I hope you enjoy this one as well. Later in the chapter, I put the small bit of conversation the Kruegers have in German in italics because it was easier than trying to wrestle with some translation website. But enough about me! Enjoy!

Nasir decided it was time to take a break when his eyes started crossing from staring at his laptop since eight that morning and his stomach rumbled. Saving his work, he shut down his laptop and picked up his phone, calling one of his best friends, Chadara.

“Hey, Naz,” she answered, slightly breathless, “make it quick. Things are a little hectic today.”

Chadara was a nurse and worked at one of the local hospitals. Nasir stood and said, “Well, I'm taking a break from editing one of my articles and wanted to know if you'd like to meet up at Lugo's for lunch.”

“That sounds fantastic!” she enthused. “I'll meet you there! Gotta go!”

The call ended, and Nasir tucked his phone into his pocket. He grabbed his bike, wanting to take advantage of the nice weather since he didn't work out that morning. Locking up his apartment, he took the elevator to the main floor. He pulled his hair back into a messy bun before walking his bike outside and hopping on it, peddling in the direction of Lugo's bar and grill. Most people that found out Nasir and Lugo were best friends were confused to say the least. But in high school, they bonded over being children of immigrants and the UFC. He was the first person Nasir came out to and it didn't seem to phase Lugo. They would go the mall, and Lugo would point guys out and ask Nasir what he thought. They met Chadara in Nasir's first year of college at a small gathering to watch a UFC event. She looked like a blond bombshell who could be quiet and all smiles one minute and then be shouting at the TV over a bad referee call. After the event ended, the three of them went to IHOP, ate pancakes, and talked fights until the wee hours of the morning. After that, their duo became a trio. They shouldn't have made sense but they did. Nasir arrived at Lugo's bar and grill, his muscles burning slightly from the ride, and chained up his bike. Right as he was entering the building, a red-faced man in a chef's jacket stormed past him, ranting, “Take this job and shove it up your ass, you Nazi fuck!”

Lugo was right behind him. Nasir stepped aside as Lugo jerked the door open and shouted after the man, “Go back to Ruby Tuesday's, you fucking cock!”

Lugo turned to Nasir and panted, “I won't have rank amateurs working here!”

“Whatever you say, Gordon Ramsey.”

The stocky man laughed and the two shared a hug. Lugo pulled back and said, “I thought I was going to have to send search party to your apartment to make sure you were still alive. What's been going on?”

“I've been swamped with deadlines!” Nasir replied, letting Lugo lead him to the bar area. “On Monday, I had to turn in my recap of last weekend's fight card and do my interview with the Krueger brothers. Tuesday was spent working on that article _and_ my predications for this weekend's fight card. And today I have to send in my final draft of the Krueger brothers interview for review by this afternoon.”

“Jesus!” Lugo lamented as Nasir sat down and he slipped behind the bar.

Nasir shrugged. “Hopefully I should have the next two days to relax before my next assignments.”

Plucking a menu from behind the bar, Nasir scanned it and asked, “Can I have the jalapeno bacon burger with extra seasoned fries and a sweet tea? Chadara is coming here for lunch so her usual grilled chicken salad.”

Lugo nodded and headed back to the kitchen. It wasn't a few minutes later that Chadara breezed the door, Castus in tow. Castus had been Nasir's first serious relationship in college. They dated for a year and a half before breaking up and deciding to stay friends. The three hugged, Chadara explaining, “I met him in the lobby as he was leaving after visiting his sister.”

Nasir smiled at Castus and they took seats at the bar. “When are Aisha and the baby being released?”

“Later this afternoon,” Castus replied. “She's still expecting you to come by for a visit.”

“I will,” Nasir reassured. “I've just been so busy with work. This is the first I've been out of the apartment since the Krueger interview.”

“Speaking of,” Chadara segued, her face now alive with curiosity, “how _was_ your interview with your epic MMA crush?”

“Completely professional,” Nasir said with an eyeroll. “I didn't shove his brother out of the conference room and have my wicked way with him, or whatever bizarre scenario you have concocted in your head.”

Lugo emerged from the kitchen, explaining, “Everything will be ready soon. Hello, Castus!”

The two shook hands while Chadara griped, “You mean you didn't try _anything_? I mean, this is the man whose thighs you have described as being carved from “marble and sex”. What gives?”

“I'm with Chadara on this one,” Castus seconded. “We're not asking for wild sex, but give us something!”

Nasir wasn't sure if he should be amused or insulted by his friends' assumptions about his lack of professional behavior around his “MMA crush”. Attention was temporarily distracted from Nasir when the food arrived. Castus ordered a Coke and stole fries from Nasir's plate. After a couple minutes of silent consumption, Nasir licked his slightly burning lips and conceded, “I'll admit I checked him out a few times, but as the interview progressed, I became engrossed in their stories. I'm as a big a fan of Agron's fight career as I am of his thighs. So yeah, all and all, I was...”

He trailed off as the end of the interview came rushing back into his mind. Embarrassment and guilt flooded his system as he reached from his phone, saying, “Shit, shit, shit” under his breath.

“What's up?” Chadara asked, leaning over his shoulder.

Sighing as he checked his personal email, he said, “At the end of the interview, he was...kinda flirty, or at least I hope he was, and I might have...givenhimmypersonalemail.”

Without fail, his friends crowed with laughter. Lugo chortled, “And you are j-just _now_ remembering this?”

Nasir gave him the finger, which only caused Lugo to laugh louder. He stopped scrolling when he saw an email from aggy_mma@gmail.com, entitled _Not sure what to put here_. Chadara squealed, “Read it! Read it!”

“Why should I, you intrusive hag?” Nasir groused, locking his phone.

Chadara only grinned and took another bite of her salad. Lugo and Castus finally regained control over themselves, Castus saying breathlessly, “Only _you_ would forget that you gave your email to your ultimate MMA crush. Thank God I wasn't exactly subtle when we first met or we would have never dated!”

Nasir excused himself to “go to the bathroom”, which prompted a chorus of “Sure, you are” and “Details, fucker”. He practically ran to the bathroom, locking the door behind him for good measure. Unlocking his phone with trembling fingers, he leaned against the door and read, _Nasir, sorry about my shitty subject title. Never was very good with those. But anyway, I know it's only been a few hours since the interview and you probably haven't even checked your email, but fortune favors the bold, right? I was thinking maybe we could watch the fights together this weekend. Let me know. Agron_

(^v^)

“Like you said before, he's probably busy.”

The stinging sensation of the needle on his shoulder blade stopped, and Agron and Duro's little sister Sophie asked, “Want to take a break before I start the shading?”

“Sure,” Agron replied, sitting up straight and stretching some. Duro was sitting on a stool across from him in the small room of the tattoo parlor where Sophie worked, a bandage over his heart. The three siblings were getting matching tattoos, a trio of orchids, for their mom as a Mother's Day gift. Sophie rolled from behind him, pulling off her gloves as she said, “I dated a journalism major in college, and once he had a writing assignment, it was like I didn't even exist.”

Duro frowned. “Wasn't that the guy you dumped for that very same reason and he stalked you until Ags and I tracked him down and threatened to beat his ass?”

“The very same,” Sophie replied, taking a sip of water and offering the bottle to Agron. He took it as she said, “If he doesn't reply by the end of this week, then it was a bust and he's a dick that is obsessed with his job. No harm, no foul.”

“Except the harm done to poor Aggy's heart,” Duro snickered, “at being rejected by his epic man crush.”

“He's _not_ my man crush!” Agron growled, throwing the bottle at his brother's head. “I really like and respect his opinions on MMA and yes, I find him very attractive.”

Duro and Sophie exchanged looks before saying, “Man crush.”

“Fuck both of you!” Agron shouted while his siblings continued to snicker. “I've been getting picked at about this since Monday, and it's really not funny anymore!”

His younger siblings sobered up. After a moment of silence, Sophie rolled closer and said softly in German, “ _I'm sorry, big brother. We took it too far._ ”

“ _Yeah, we were being dicks,_ ” Duro added. “ _Forgive us?_ ”

Normally Agron would have doubted their sincerity, but in their family, they only spoke German amongst themselves or when something needed to be said just between them. It was their special way of communicating. So Agron reached up and pinched his little sister's chin, saying, “ _Always._ ”

Sophie grinned and kissed his cheek, rolling back behind him. Duro smiled and said gently, “You have to admit, you have some fanboyish tendencies when it comes to this guy. You've read _every_ article he's written since joining Bloody Elbow, you follow him on Twitter and Instagram...need I say more?”

Agron let Sophie maneuver him back into position, saying, “Okay, you have me there. And I'll accept the label of “fanboy” but don't call whatever this thing is with Nasir a man crush. That makes me sound like some fourteen year old dipshit with his first hard-on or something.”

Sophie began shading, snorting as she worked. Duro nodded his head. “Fair enough.”

Thankfully the topic of conversation shifted from Agron to Sophie. Duro asked her where her car was, and after a few minutes of prodding, she told them that she had broken up with her boyfriend Tiberius over the weekend. He had responded by slashing her tires and putting a cinder block through her wind shield.

“Don't you two do anything!” she insisted. “My neighbors in the apartment next to me saw him and called the cops. The authorities are handling it, and I really don't need you two going off, half-cocked and looking for a fight.”

“You tell us if he keeps bothering you,” Duro insisted. “His dad is Marcus Crassus, and you can bet your ass he'll try to get all this swept under the rug.”

“I told you that guy was a fucking asshole,” Agron growled. “You have the worst taste in men!”

“Like you're one to talk,” Sophie grumbled. “Sedullus, Julius, Marcus...should I go on?”

“Nope,” Agron replied quickly. “I don't need a greatest hits of my relationship fails today, thank you very much!”

His cellphone sounded in his pocket, and he asked Sophie to pause for a moment. He unlocked it and saw that he had an email. Pressing the envelope icon at the bottom of his screen, he checked his Gmail. His rage at Sophie's dick of an ex dissipated some when he saw that Nasir had finally responded. He selected the message, his face splitting into a grin.

To: aggy_mma@gmail.com  
From: naz_angel7@gmail.com  
Subject: Re: Not sure what to put here

Agron,

So sorry I didn't answer your email sooner, but BE decided to slam me with deadlines. It would be awesome to watch the fights with you this weekend. My place? Yours? A neutral location? Would it be cool if I brought friends? And don't worry, it won't take me as long to respond to this email.

-Nasir

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all liked this. I'm gonna try to update every week, but don't hold me to it. If you're curious, the model I used as a reference for Sophie was Jennifer Lawrence, her look in Silver Linings Playbook. But feel free to picture anyone of your choosing! Comment below or give kudos if you liked this! Thank you for reading! Until next time, follow me on Tumblr @ othablugrl.tumblr.com for more of my madness!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The big fight night is finally here, and there is a battle of the burger recipe!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry that it took me an extra week to get this chapter out! My muse was being difficult, and my sister is on leave from the military. But I hope y'all enjoy this! I tried to make it a little longer than I would usually write as a way of apologizing for the wait! Enjoy!

“You know, for a fighter, you eat like shit.”

Agron grinned at Sophie as he tossed a third bag of tortilla chips into his cart. He shrugged and said, “Crixus is the one who has that “my body is a temple” mindset. I figured that as long as I don't over indulge and throw in some fresh stuff, I should be able to eat whatever I want.”

Sophie nodded her head. “Sounds good to me.”

After gathering the last of the ingredients for nachos, Agron pushed his cart to the back to grab some ground beef for burgers. As he tried to remember who all was coming, Sophie's phone started ringing and she answered it. A couple minutes later, she hung up and reported, “Duro is at your place with the booze. Also he says not to forget his Reese's Cups.”

Agron picked up two of the biggest packages of ground beef, saying, “I didn't forget! I swear, he's like a little kid.”

Sophie cleared her throat as she picked up a package of sour gummy worms that were laying next to Duro's candy.. She arched an eyebrow and teased, “You were saying?”

“That I need stuff for burgers,” he replied, heading to the fruits and vegetables section. They quickly gathered all the needed fixings then headed towards the checkout area. Getting in line, Sophie flipped through a People magazine while Agron checked out the actor on the cover of Men's Health. He had gotten heckled by his friends and family when he said that he was still having the party for UFC 159. He took it all in stride and simply explained that he and Nasir had talked, agreeing that fight nights were best when with a group. _Plus,_ Nasir had admitted in a text message, _I really want to meet some of the other guys from your gym._ Agron had laughed and teased Nasir about just wanting to hang out with him because of his connections.

“So when is everyone showing up?” Sophie asked as she placed the magazine back on the rack.

“Around six,” Agron replied, starting to put his items on the belt. “It's four now, so I'll have a couple hours to get everything ready.”

“And who is Nasir bringing?”

“His two best friends,” Agron answered, giving the cashier a smile. “One of them is the owner of that bar and grill you like so much. Lugo's, isn't it?”

Sophie perked up at that. “Really? Talk about six degrees of separation. It's like you two were destined to meet.”

Agron snorted and rolled his eyes. His cashier turned out to be a fight fan and bashfully asked for his autograph. Agron obliged and took a picture with her as well. He could tell the people behind him were getting annoyed, but he didn't care. The smile on that girl's face as he and Sophie left was more than worth it. The drive back to his house was relatively quick. Duro's Jeep was parked by the curb, and as they grabbed the groceries and approached the front door, they heard the all-too-familiar barks of Duro's dachshund, Napoleon. As they entered the house, Napoleon was right under their feet, barking up a storm.

“Duro!” Agron hollered over the small animal. “If that fucking thing pisses in my house-”

“He won't!” Duro insisted, emerging from the kitchen. He scooped up his pet and explained, “I've put his puppy pads down in the kitchen and have been taking him outside to play.”

The siblings went into the kitchen, setting the bags on the counter. One of Agron's cats, a very large grey-brown and black striped male named Vito, glared at Duro and his dog from his spot near the coffee maker before turning his head to Agron, as if to ask, “Did you authorize this?”

Agron pet Vito, getting in his good graces by scratching the sweet spot under the feline's chin, and asked, “Where's Janis?”

“Last time I saw her,” Duro replied, letting Napoleon out into the backyard, “she was in your room, hiding.”

Agron glared at his little brother. “Your dog better not have been tormenting her. And speaking of, why is that yappy little thing here in the first place?”

“Calm down, crazy cat lady!” Duro said, exasperated. “I didn't want to leave him all alone in my apartment so he could shred my stuff and pee everywhere, so I brought him here. If he gets too loud or hyper during the fights, I'll stick him outside.”

As they started organizing the food, Vito hopped off the counter and went into the living room. The first to arrive were Mira and Donar. Each of them pet Vito, who had curled up on Agron's recliner. Donar stroked the cat's fur and said, “I swear this cat gets fatter every time I see him.”

Agron smacked the back of his best friend's head, snapping, “Hey, show some respect to the Godfather.”

Duro and Mira curled up on the love seat while Agron, Donar, and Sophie sat down on the sectional. Deciding it was too early to start cooking, Agron and Donar played a few rounds of the latest UFC Undisputed, Donar complaining about some unexpected changes made to a house plan. He owned a construction company that Agron and Duro worked at when they weren't fighting. The pay was pretty good, and Donar was cool about juggling their schedules, especially when they had to train for a fight. During a match up between Agron's Junior dos Santos and Donar's Brock Lesner, Mira commented, “I hope the next game features the new women's division. Doing that would broaden the UFC's market to include female fight fans who are also gamers.”

“Yeah,” Duro snickered, “guys would be hoping for a secret combo that will cause the girl's top to rip off.”

Agron and Donar winced when Duro got smacked by Mira and Sophie, Mira ranting, “You are such a pig! When there's two guys fighting, you're all about technique and strategy, but two girls get in the ring and suddenly it's all camel toes and tits popping out.”

“Okay, Christ!” Duro whined, trying to shield himself from both angry women. “I'm sorry!”

Agron beat Donar and tossed his controller at his little brother, saying, “Fight Donar so that your mouth doesn't get you into anymore trouble.”

Agron went into the kitchen and started prepping the food. This was the main reason he loved fight nights: everyone getting together and hanging out. He was a little nervous about how Nasir and his friends would mesh with the rest of the group. He knew it was a silly thing to worry about, but his friends and _especially_ his family showed little restraint around the guys he had showed interest in and dated in the past. They explained it as a weeding out process, a way to see if the guy could handle all that came with dating Agron. He just hoped and prayed that they weren't too hard on Nasir.

Gannicus and Saxa were the next ones to arrive, bringing even more alcohol. Gannicus came from the earlier days of The Pit and, by the time Agron had arrived, had retired from fighting and helped Oenomaus with training the gym. He was a bit of a party guy but knew the fight game like the back of his hand. He and Saxa had an insane on and off relationship that no one pretended to understand but that everyone accepted. The pair entered the kitchen as Agron was forming the last of the hamburger patties. Gannicus's eyes widened and he asked, “Are those the burgers you made for my birthday?”

Agron grinned. “The very same.”

“You will give me that recipe one day,” Gannicus insisted, pointing at him, “even if I have to blow you for it!”

“Is that a real option?” Agron teased with an arched eyebrow.

Gannicus opened his mouth to respond only to have Saxa slap her hand over it. She turned towards Agron and chided, “I know you're hard up for a lay, but do not think you will get relief from my boyfriend.”

“So he's your boyfriend this week?” Agron asked, smirking. “I thought you two weren't into labeling things.”

Saxa gave him the finger and dragged Gannicus out of the kitchen, the man removing her hand and calling out, “We're not finished, Krueger!”

Agron shook his head as he finished forming the last patty. He washed his hands and stepped out onto the back porch to ready the grill. The only people left to arrive were Nasir and his friends. Spartacus and Sura were watching the fights with Varro and Aurelia, the latter unable to get a babysitter for Janus. Naevia had gotten some stomach bug that had kept her up all night puking, so she and Crixus were staying home. Agron heard the hum of an engine from the front yard, and his heart skipped a beat. Leaving the coals to get ready, he went back inside just as Sophie was letting in Nasir and his friends. From their emails and texts, Agron knew that the pretty blond was Chadara and the stocky guy with the huge grin was Lugo. Introductions were made, Agron exiting the kitchen to greet his guests. Gannicus announced his overwhelming desire to start drinking, which prompted a small stampede into the kitchen. Duro came up alongside Nasir and, clapping him on the back, said, “Great job on the article, man. You made us look really good.”

“Thank you,” Nasir replied, smiling, “but it wasn't that much of a challenge. You two provided such a wealth of knowledge. All I did was translate that into writing.”

“Well, your translation was amazing,” Agron said as he and Nasir stood back and watched everyone get drinks. “Our mom posted the link on her Facebook _and_ emailed it to everyone in her address book. I think she even printed off a copy for our dad to show off at work.”

Agron bit the inside of his cheek at the slight blush that graced Nasir's cheeks. Nasir moved forward to grab himself a can of Coke while Agron collected car keys. Whenever he hosted a fight night, everyone usually crashed at his place. Agron and Nasir were left alone as everyone filtered back into the living room to play a few more rounds of UFC Undisputed to kill time until the fights started. Nasir gestured to the large collection of food on the island between them and asked, “Need some help?”

Agron opened a beer Duro had pulled out for him and took a swig, saying, “That'd be great.”

(^v^)

The living room erupted into cheers of joy as the referee pulled Jones off of Sonnen. Those cheers quickly turned to groans when Joe Rogan called attention to Jones's big toe, which appeared to be broken and bleeding. Nasir turned to Agron, who was sitting next to him in his recliner, and said, “It's a good thing the ref stopped the fight in Jones's favor because if the first round had ended, they would have had another medical stoppage.”

“And I would have vomited,” Agron replied, killing the last of his beer, “knowing that Sonnen was the new champ in my weight division.”

“Yeah, that would have been the rotten cherry,” Mira added, “on top of a lackluster card sundae.”

“Well, they can't all be winners,” Saxa said with a shrug. “But the Nelson KO was pretty spectacular.”

Everyone nodded. Agron, Nasir, and Sophie, being the least drunk people, gathered the mess of dishes and beer bottles as Donar changed the TV back over to play more video games. As Nasir helped rinse off plates to be loaded into the dish washer, he said, “The burgers were pretty amazing, Agron.”

“Thank you,” Agron said with a grin that made Nasir's pulse quicken. “Your friend Lugo seems quite determined to get my recipe.”

They finished loading the washer, Nasir leaning against the island and saying, “Cooking is his ultimate passion, and when he sets his mind to something, he could be pretty dogged.”

As if on cue, Lugo staggered slightly into the kitchen and asked, “Agron, what will it take to get your recipe? I will give you full credit on the menu.”

“No!” Gannicus shouted, coming up behind Lugo. “If anyone is getting that fucking recipe first, it will be me! I've known him longer.”

Sophie left the kitchen, chuckling and shaking her head. Nasir sat back and watched as Agron goaded the two drunks into a bidding war over the recipe. Sensing trouble, Nasir went to the entrance of the kitchen and motioned for Saxa. As she approached, the bids were rising quickly, Gannicus slamming his hand on the counter and shouting, “Ten grand!”

Nasir and Saxa exchanged looks and intervened. They separated the two men, Nasir saying to Lugo, “You are not paying thousands of dollars for a simple burger recipe, you mad fuck! Regardless of how good it tastes.”

“Neither are you, my love,” Saxa said to Gannicus. Turning to Agron, she growled, “And you are an ass for encouraging them!”

“I just wanted to see how far they'd go,” Agron chuckled.

“Were you not listening to me earlier?” Nasir huffed as Lugo leaned against him. Wrapping both arms around the large man's waist, he said, “I need to get this one and Chadara home, but thank you for an extremely entertaining evening.”

Agron took Lugo and headed to the front door. Nasir followed behind them and went to the corner of the sectional where Chadara had curled up, watching Mira and Donar play the UFC game. He helped her to her feet. She was nowhere near as trashed as Lugo but very sleepy. Nasir exchanged goodbyes and a couple of telephone numbers while Agron waited with Lugo. Sophie gave him a hug while Duro slapped him on the back one last time, saying, “Take it easy, man. Hope to see you again soon.”

Nasir thanked them and joined Agron in walking to his trunk. After depositing Lugo in the backseat and Chadara up front, the two men circled around to the driver's side. Nasir jiggled his keys in his hands, not wanting the night to end yet. Agron took that moment to ask, “So what are your plans for tomorrow?”

“I have to rewatch this card,” Nasir replied, leaning against the trunk, “for my recap. Not really looking forward to it.”

“Would you like some company?” Agron asked, and Nasir tried his damnedest not to compare the look on the taller man's face to that of an excited puppy.

“It might be boring,” Nasir warned. “I'll just be doing lots of scribbling, typing, and talking to myself.”

“Even better,” Agron insisted, not dissuaded. “With me there, you won't have to talk to yourself.”

Agron's charm and eagerness caused Nasir to cave in an instant. He nodded and said, “I'll text you my address when I'm up tomorrow. Since you were so generous with dinner tonight, I'll provide lunch.”

“Sounds great.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A special shout out to everyone who has read, kudo'ed, or reviewed this story so far! Your feedback and readership means so much to me! Feel free to follow me on Tumblr @ othablugrl.tumblr.com for more of my madness. Until next time!


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